The man who stabbed two police officers and was then shot dead in regional South Australia spoke to the ABC more than a decade ago about his confronting experiences while working as a guard at the Woomera detention centre.
Sean Ferris was fatally shot at Crystal Brook on Wednesday, after stabbing Brevet Sergeants Ian Todd and Jordan Allely.
Sergeant Allely has since been discharged from hospital while Sergeant Todd, whose condition is critical, has shown progress following surgery on Wednesday night.
Mr Ferris's family today released a statement saying it had been left heartbroken and expressing its condolences to both officers — but it also said Mr Ferris had been battling mental health issues.
In an interview with the ABC's Four Corners program in 2008, Mr Ferris opened up on his time working as a guard at the now defunct, but controversial, Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre in the early 2000s.
Mr Ferris spoke of the training he received to restrain asylum seekers by force.
"The guy — I think he was ex-SAS, and he basically showed us a fair few take downs and disarming techniques so you could take peoples' heads off," he said.
He also recalled a confrontation between guards and detainees at Woomera, in which he found himself caught in a burning building.
"They started pelting it with rocks and got their iron bars and stuff and they're trying to break in and they're seriously trying to get in to do us some damage, and we've called [for help]," he said.
"There's only five or six of us in there and while we're waiting for things to happen, and 'can we get out of here in one piece please?', they decided they weren't going to wait for us to come out anymore, and they couldn't break in — so they set the building on fire."
During the interview, Mr Ferris said it was a "very frightening" experience, and that he still had "nightmares about things like that now".
"In the nightmare or dream that I'm having, I'll be calling … 'I need some help here', and just no-one answers," he said in the 2008 report by journalist Quentin McDermott.
"You wake up and your heart's racing, and things like that still affect me now.
"When I see … people like that, that remind me of the detainees from Woomera, when I see people like that and violence like that on telly, I sit here now and I yell and scream and swear at the TV."
In its statement, Mr Ferris's family spoke of the impact that mental health issues had had on his life.
"As a family our hearts are broken by the significant harm that occurred [Wednesday]. Mental health is an insidious disease and has the potential to create a devastating impact on families and our community," the family said.
"Like all South Australians our thoughts and prayers are with the two police officers and their families during these difficult times.
"For now, our thoughts remain with the two officers, their families, the Crystal Brook community and the entire SAPOL family."
The statement was released on behalf of the Ferris family by SA Police, which specified it had no involvement in its preparation.
The Crystal Brook incident remains under formal police investigation, with a detective superintendent appointed to lead an inquiry.
'It mucked his head up'
Mr Ferris's friends have also indicated his time at Woomera had had a lasting impact on his state of mind.
"Sean was on my training course [for Woomera]," said one former colleague who wanted to remain anonymous.
"He was very social, we got along well together. He was good to work with, I looked forward to working with him."
The former colleague, who condemned Mr Ferris's attack on police, was also critical of how he had been depicted in some reports.
"They've labelled him as 'the devil' because no-one knows his back story," he said.
"I knew Sean personally. He was not the devil – he was a man with a lot of troubles.
"[Woomera] changed all of us in many ways.
"The trouble was there was no help afterwards. I have never, ever received any counselling for what happened."
Neighbour and friend David Wallace, who has been looking after Mr Ferris's dog Buddy, said Mr Ferris often recalled his time at Woomera.
"He talked about it and just how hard it was and how things were there for him," Mr Wallace said.
"It was hard for him, he had … difficult times when he had to take charge and control of things. It mucked his head up a bit."
